The Swedes in Chicago

At the turn of the twentieth century,
Chicago had the second largest Swedish population of any city in
the world; only Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, had more.

The Swedes gave us the log cabin, built Wrigley Field, and founded
the Walgreen's drugstore chain.

After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, so many of the city's carpenters
were Swedish that for a long time it was said that "the Swedes
built Chicago." They came here with little more than hope and
determination. They retained the spirit of their homeland, and yet
formed the backbone of the city. As they prospered, so did Chicago.

The Swedes have kept the neighborhood of Andersonville alive with
Swedish food, drink and history. Along Clark Street, just north
of Foster (5200 North), the entire community welcomes Swedish Americans
and celebrates all of the Swedish holidays. Merchants and residents
turn out for the very traditional Midsummer, Lucia and Christmas
celebrations. But, tourists visit the area continually to sample
Swedish food, buy gifts, and visit the Swedish American Museum Center.

The Chicago Swedish Experience from A to Z Here's a wealth-may we say a veritable smorgasbord? - of Swedish
arts and cultural resources, much of it right here in our backyard,
and/or available right here on the Internet, with some fun facts
thrown in along the way!

G is for Gösta Werner
The Sjösala Vals exhibit at Swedish
American Museum Center (June 14-August 26) features Gösta
Werner's lithographs, inspired by Evert Taube's songs and poetry,
and offers a profile of one of Sweden's most beloved cultural figures.

H is for Holgersson
In the famous Swedish book, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, it
is mischievous Nils Holgersson who flies on the back of a wild goose.
In 1909, author Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman to receive
the Nobel prize for literature.

J is for Just Look at All These Holdings! Libris Websearch
is the collective name for several bibliographic services offered
on the Internet. The most important is the Libris database, with
more than three million titles representing the holdings of about
180 Swedish libraries.

K is for Kebnekaise
At 2,111 m., that's the highest mountain in Sweden.

L is for Lutefisk, or maybe for Lingonberries
Visit any Swedish eatery, and you decide!

M is for Mamma Mia
Coming in May to Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre is "Mamma
Mia," a musical by former ABBA members Benny Andersson and
Björn Ulvaeus. The show features 25 classic ABBA songs. For
tickets, call 312/977-1710.

N is for Nordic Folk Dancers
Like dancers in Sweden, this Norwood Park group performs the gammil
dance, a traditional Swedish wedding celebration, and is expert
in the hambo, the national dance of Sweden. For more info, call
773/769-3946.

O is for the Oils, Watercolors, and Other Paintings
From March 15 to June 3, the Scandinavian Masters exhibit at Swedish
American Museum Center features paintings in oil, watercolor,
gouache and ceramic.

P is for Prize, Nobel
Prize
Did you know that this year there are activities celebrating the
100th year of the Nobel Prize?

Q is for Queen
of Sweden
The present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, born in 1946, was thirty
when he married Silvia Sommerlath from Germany. (Their oldest child,
Victoria, is the next in line to be Sweden's monarch. But this may
not happen soon. Sweden's last king lived to be 91, and the king
before him 92. What's in those meatballs?!?)

R is for Radio from Sweden
Sveriges
Radio (SR) is a public service broadcaster, transmitting for
120,000 hours a year.

S is for Swedish
American Museum Center
The 24,000 square foot Center at 5211 N. Clark houses a museum with
permanent exhibits, galleries for temporary shows, a museum store,
Swedish library, and meeting and workshop areas.

T is for Tre
Kronor
This outstanding Scandinavian restaurant at 3258 W. Foster is considered
by many to be the city's best. The trolls on the walls will look
over your shoulder as you partake of their specialties.

U is for U Knew That the Strongest Girl in the World is Swedish,
Didn't You? Fictional character Pippi Longstocking once wrestled
with the strongest man in the world at a circus. Astrid Lindgren's
Pippi books have been translated into 76 languages and are truly
a world-wide phenomenon.

V is for Virtual
Sweden
This is Sweden's official website for information about Sweden to
the outside world.

W is for Wikström's
Deli
After over 38 years in the business and over 23 years in Andersonville,
Wikström's at 5247 N. Clark is known to not only the Scandinavian
Community, but a definite cross population of customers. Bill Cosby
loved their Swedish pancakes and Liza Minnelli loved their meatballs.

X is for X-Plosion!
Did you know that the fortune that made the Nobel prizes possible
was the result of Alfred Nobel's best-known invention, dynamite
(1866)? It still comes in handy today!

Y is for Young
Sweden
This site is aimed specifically at young people interested in learning
about Sweden.

Z is for Zipper
It was a Swede who perfected the design of the everyday zip fastener.
You also have Swedish inventors to thank for the refrigerator, the
pace-maker, and the computer mouse!

Ann Sather's RecipesAnd how Swede it is! The friendly folks at Ann Sather's restaurant
have generously offered to share a few of their best-loved recipes,
from their Ann Sather's Restaurant 50th Anniversary Cookbook:

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the warm water and
let it stand for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in milk, melted butter, 1/3 cup sugar,
salt and 1 cup of flour. Beat all of this with a spoon or an electric mixer until
smooth. Gradually stir in 1-1/2 cups of flour, keeping the dough smooth. If the
dough is still moist, stir in 1 tablespoon of flour at a time to make a soft
dough. Cover with a dry cloth and let it rise in a warm place until it is doubled
in bulk, about 1 hour. Divide the raised dough in half. On a lightly oiled board,
roll out (with a lightly floured rolling pin) and stretch 1 piece of dough to
make a 12" by 8" rectangle. Spread 2 tablespoons of the soft butter over the
top of the dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Beginning on the long
side roll up tightly, jelly-roll fashion. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cut
the dough into 2-inch slices. Place on floured and greased baking sheets. Let
the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350*
F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Take the cinnamon rolls on
the baking sheets out of the oven and place them to cool on a wire rack. Top
the rolls with Powdered Sugar Glaze immediately, if desired, and cool or serve
warm, as you like.

Makes 18 rolls.
(It's really much easier to buy these at any Ann Sather's restaurant)

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. margarine, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla

Place all the ingredients into a small bowl and beat until creamy smooth. Glaze
the cinnamon rolls immediately after taking them out of the oven. Allow the cinnamon
rolls to cool on a wire rack. Serve the cinnamon rolls while still warm or cooled,
as you like.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except for the meat. Add the meat
and mix well. Roll the mixture into 1" meatballs and bake them uncovered in a
lightly greased pan at 300* F for 45 minutes. Serve the hot meatballs with brown
gravy.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
Blend the sifted dry ingredients into the beaten eggs and 2 cups of cold water.
Heat a large skillet on high heat until a drop of water "dances" before it evaporates.
Coat the skillet with some oil or butter and pour one generous ladle of batter
(1/2 c.) onto the skillet for each pancake. Flip each pancake when the top bubble
and the bottom is brown. Serve immediately with delicious lingonberry jam.

Put the cooked rice into a saucepan. Divide the butter into small portions and
stir it into the rice with a fork. Cover the saucepan and leave it in a hot oven
at 400* F for about 15 minutes, stirring it often with a fork. Put the rice into
a mixing bowl and mix in more cold butter, salt, sugar and raisins. After the
rice mixture has cooled, stir in well-beaten yolks and milk. Pour it all into
a (2 quart) baking dish that has been buttered, then dusted with breadcrumbs.
Bake uncovered in a moderate oven at 385* F for 40-50 minutes. Take the baking
dish of rice pudding out of the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle
the top with cinnamon, if you like, and serve the rice pudding still warm with
lingonberry jam.

Put the Glogg spices in a small saucepan. Cover the spices with water and simmer
until soft. Combine the wine, the brandy and the rum in a large pot and bring
it to a simmer. DO NO BOIL. Add the Glogg spices to the large pot. Put the sugar
in a heavy pan. Stir it on a low flame until it turns to a liquid. It will be
brown in color. Stir it constantly or it will burn. DO NOT LEAVE IT. Slowly stir
the carmelized sugar into the large pot with the wine, rum, brandy and spices.
When ready to serve, pour the pure grain alcohol on top of the Glogg in the pot
and light it with a match. It will burn off, go out, and be ready to serve.